Develop
by graymittens
Summary: Isolated, reserved nerd, Hermione Granger, decides that it is time to take action in regards to her love life. AU no magic
1. Chapter 1

Rounding the corner I spied a familiar back further down the aisle. I couldn't help myself from smiling a too-wide smile. There was no mistaking the back of Fleur Delacour, a colleague of mine, who was currently conversing with a seemingly attractive and put-together man. Jumping to conclusions, my smile faltered but only slightly.

For some reason I took a gamble and decided to wait for them to finish. I just really wanted to speak to her. Can you believe it? Me, a passive person of unaction. A person who had probably never in their life went after their true desires. A person of logic and reason. A person who would rather just settle for what was handed to them. This time I wasn't settling. I was taking action... because of a sudden vague feeling I had. I needed to talk to her, hear her voice, see her face, anything. After working together for nearly two years I guess you could say that I had grown to like her.

I knew their conversation was coming to an end as I was partially eavesdropping. They seemed to be catching up after not seeing each other for a while. Like I had guessed, the man soon turned and left in the direction Fleur was facing. I still had the chance to leave and she would have never known that I was there. I wasn't settling this time though, I was taking action. My legs propelled me forward regardless of my hesitation. She was still looking after the man as I approached. Not wanting to startle her, I said a small 'hey'.

She turned, looking surprised for half a second and began smiling broadly. I couldn't help but smile widely in reply. Actually, the only thing I wanted to do in her presence was smile.

"What are you doing here?" I pointlessly asked. We were in a grocery store both holding baskets with groceries in them.

"Nothing, you?" I snorted.

"Nothing much," I said.

I was at a loss for words so I continued looking at her and, of course, smiling. Lately every time we spoke at work, and every time I was near her, I simply couldn't help but smile. She made me feel… happy. I became aware that I could hear her breathing. Suddenly conscious of our proximity, I stepped back quickly. All my life I kept most people I knew at arms length physically _and_ mentally but I had walked right up to her without even noticing. My face heated up just a bit after I had realized my carelessness. Fleur remained smiling but didn't say anything. I didn't know what to do and suddenly felt silly. Perhaps I shouldn't have waited. "Well, have a good night. See you tomorrow," I said quickly before turning and walking briskly towards the check out. The pasta I picked up had been the last thing on my list.

I didn't cook dinners for myself often but I was meticulous when doing so. I had been planning my dinner all day and it was going to be amazing. I had picked up pasta, parmesan, and a trout fillet and was planning to make some pesto out of the shrubs that I grew at home. After telling myself how great dinner would be for the hundredth time, I was finally unable to turn my attention away from the run in with Fleur. God was I bloody awkward. I had absolutely no game. Probably why I hadn't much success in the romance department. No success actually. Sighing I looked up and realized that I was standing beside my car for god knows how long. I reached into my purse to retrieve my keys. My purse was a mess. Although there were several compartments I failed at using them so everything ended up being mixed up in the main big compartment. I cursed myself for being an unorganized wreck and not only in regards to my purse. As I was rummaging through the mess I felt something, most likely a hand, lightly grasping my shoulder. I froze, slightly frightened and somewhat hopeful. I didn't dare turn around yet. There was a sixty percent chance, I guessed, that it might be Fleur.

"Hermione," came Fleur's voice after several seconds. I was right thankfully. Closing my eyes in relief, I unevenly let out the breathe I didn't even notice I was holding. I turned slowly and was met with the most beautiful face I had ever laid my eyes on. I stared, first into her eyes, then her whole face, and then at her lips. The adrenaline from the grocery store was back. I didn't know what to do so i just stood still. Fleur's gaze kept going from my eyes to my lips and back. Several moments, I think, passed like this. I felt Fleur's hand that was on my shoulder now stroking soothingly up and down my neck and shoulder area. She was holding me at the waist with her other hand. In this brief moment, I had unconsciously moved my hands onto her shoulders to keep my balance. Suddenly becoming very conscious of our positioning, I had become a bit self conscious and again felt silly. I sheepishly smiled. That seemed to snap Fleur out of her trance and she grinned back. We regarded each other like this for a few moments more, then she moved to peck my cheek.

"See you tomorrow," she said. She lingered for a few seconds more before walking off with groceries in hand.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm going to get some coffee. Want anything?" I hadn't realized how concentrated on my work I was until Michael's voice interrupted my thoughts. I paused to process his question.

"Yes, thank you." A drink right now would be quite nice. Now focused on his question, I thought about what I would like to drink. It was a toss up between a latte, a coffee, or an americano-the latter two I always took black. "A latte, please." Some dairy wouldn't hurt.

"Just a latte?" Michael checked. I was never really one for sweet things or anything too ornate.

"Yes please!" I called. He was already out the door when I heard his faint confirmation. I would ask him about the cost when he returned.

I was now sitting alone in the office and became very aware of the hum of the A/C. I worked at a car insurance company on a team of four which included Michael, Fleur, our manager Melanie, and myself. We spent most of our time doing risk analyses, as well as compiling data to support the corporate actuary as he wrote reports. I liked my job. As in I liked the environment. It was clean, simple and quiet. Aside from the rare client and company meetings, I also didn't have to deal with a lot of people other than my colleagues. That was one of the best parts of it. The job itself was very interesting and I as very good at it, but I wasn't passionate about it. There has never been any subject or field that I was passionate about so I defaulted to something that I was good at. It wasn't bad at all, plus, there was Fleur.

I saw Fleur for a few minutes today before she had left with Melanie to meet clients and would be gone all day. She was the obvious choice for client meetings, or any meetings for that matter. Between Michael, Fleur and I, Fleur was the most eloquent speaker. She was outspoken, charismatic and charming- basically the complete opposite of me. I would say that I'm a pretty good archetype of the modern day nerd - lacking social skills, shy, unattractive, fringe interests, interesting fashion.

I had a very good upbringing and was very thankful for that. However, looking back, I can say that I was quite socially isolated growing up. I found it hard to make friends because I lacked social skills and realizing this made me isolate myself even more. I didn't have any friends throughout elementary school, high school and college. I had lived in my own very small world for a long time. It wasn't until I graduated from college and found a part time job that I was exposed to the real social world. I found and still find things like having conversations with other people, ordering food in restaurants, small talk, bsing in meetings, very difficult but I am getting more comfortable with it. Now in my late twenties, I have held several jobs, met many different people and have learned how to navigate the social world in my own way.

I clicked idly at my computer half lost in my thoughts and half paying attention to what was on my screen. I had been distracted from my work and found it hard to get back on track. I decided I would take a small break and occupy myself browsing korean entertainment news sites. The handle of our office door shook. By now, I was excitedly anticipating my latte. I was tapping my foot-a bad habit- impatiently. First Melanie, then Fleur, then Michael, filed in. I guess I looked shocked because Melanie soon announced that they were back early from the meetings before returning to her own office. I nodded slowly while minimizing the non-work windows on my computer. Michael had placed the latte on my desk without my noticing. I sent him a quick message of thanks and asked him how much I owed him.

I looked over to Fleur's desk. She was very attractive when in business mode. She already had her head down and was typing away, probably making a report on the meetings from today. As if sensing that I was looking at her, she looked up at me. I was almost going to turn away, embarrassed that I had been caught staring but I held my gaze and smiled. Fleur replied with a giant beaming smile that I could almost feel the rays hitting me. We sure did a lot of smiling. My phone buzzed on my desk. There was a message from Michael saying that the latte was on him, and there was a message from Fleur asking if I wanted to get a drink with her after work. I texted back that I would like to. Reading the text again, I wondered what she meant by drink. Did she mean a coffee, or did she mean alcohol? I hoped she meant coffee because I was very bad at drinking alcohol.


End file.
